The Deck
by 3rooke
Summary: Rukia has somehow ended up with a deck of playing cards, and after mastering Poker, she decided to make a small bet with Ichigo. For someone resorted to nothing but socks and jocks, he seems like a pretty lucky guy.


**The Deck**

**_Warning: Mild sexual references_  
**

"Ichigo..."

He frowned. She seriously never gave him any peace.

"Yeah?" He said, placing down his pen and turning towards her.

"What are... _Cards_?" She replied, trying to read the label on the small box that sat in her palm.

"You've never seen a deck of cards before?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. He sometimes forgot how sheltered Rukia was from the simple things of the Human World.

She shock her head quickly, blankly looking back at him with confusion and curiosity smothering her face.

"You play games with them."

"You play games with _these_?" She said, taking out the thin pieces of card with a clueless expression, only to have them all spill out on the floor.

Ichigo sighed at her clumsiness, but couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his cheeks. Bending down to pick up the cards, he started to wonder where she even got them from...

"How do you play with such silly things?" She snapped, frustrated by her own lack of coordination.

"Well..."

It wasn't too long after Ichigo said that, that he realised how bad this idea was. He had decided to teach her Poker, and he quickly found that she was much better then he was at a beginner.

"I win again!"

"Are you sure you've never played this before?" Ichigo said suspiciously, throwing his cards down on the bed.

"Don't pout, Strawberry. I haven't, I swear. Besides, I don't see why anyone would want to play such an easy game..."

She looked over to her side, seeing the small empty box lying on the bed.

Ichigo looked at her, "_Easy? _Rukia, it's a game of luck."

Rukia decided to ignore his last comment as she felt a yawn drift her way. "What's Strip Poker?"

Ichigo chocked on his own tongue at her question. _Where the hell did she hear that from?_

"W-What?" he said, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

"It's here on the box. See?"

Ichigo leant in as she held it up, pointing towards the two words which were, yes, "Strip Poker."

"What kind of cards are these anyway?" Ichigo asked to himself more then anyone. _And I thought the term "Strip Poker" was self-explanatory?_

"What's the big deal? How do you play?" Rukia pondered, her attention more active after seeing Ichigo's response.

"Well..." he paused. "The idea is, for every round you win, your opponent has to take of one item of clothing. The game is over when one of the players has nothing more to remove."

Rukia raised her eyebrows at the logic of the game. It was just so undignified. Things like that were never even thought of in the Soul Society. But there was something about the idea that intrigued her.

Ichigo reached out to grab the cards beside Rukia and began to pack them all away in the small box as they were before.

"Why are you packing up? Don't you want to play?" she asked, knowing exactly why he was doing what he was doing.

Ichigo began to feel a small twitch from below. The though or him and Rukia playing the seductive game defiantly got the blood flowing – but he wouldn't admit it.

"Hell no. I don't want you to see me butt-naked." He continued stuffing the cards back.

"Oh, so you're afraid of losing? I promise I'll go easy on you, _Strawberry_." she giggled.

"Bu- I- No I'm not! ...and don't call me that!"

"Alright, prove it. I'll make a deal with you..." Rukia replied with a wide smirk masking her face. "If you win, I'll stop calling you Strawberry."

It really didn't matter what kind of "deal" she made with him. He just needed a good reason to start playing.

"And if you win?" he silently scolded himself for even considering idea.

"Then... you have to... stop making fun of Chappy!" A small price to pay.

"...And of my drawings!" That would be a little harder, but it was worth it he thought.

"Deal." He began to pull the cards back out. "Let's play."

**.o0o0o.**

"Four of a kind." Ichigo smirked. "Strip it, Rukia."

It didn't take Ichigo long to become comfortable with this idea, despite the face that he was sitting in his jocks. He was so glad he wore socks today.

"Bastard, you have to be cheating!" Rukia frowned, removing yet her shirt.

"C'mon, this is only your third loss! You're still way ahead of me."

"Yes, my third loss _in a row!_"

"But what ever happened to, _I don't see why anyone would want to play such an easy game._" Ichigo sang, repeating what Rukia has said a little earlier. Only to have a fist pound into his cheek.

"Just shuffle the deck, _Strawberry!_"

"Enjoy it while it lasts, Midget. That's gonna be the last time you ever call me that."

Rukia's face had become more of a scarlet then the delicate pale it usually was. She had been resulted to nothing but her bra and knickers, but she noticed Ichigo was just as red as she. But she also noticed he tried to avoid any form of eye contact, which was more then she could say for herself – she struggled to take her eyes off of him. His strong, muscular arms were now free from the constricting fabric of his shirt, and she found herself admiring the hard chest between them.

"I win again, Rukia." He smirked, still refusing to allow himself to look at her. Especially now.

Rukia blushed hard, and hesitated slightly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Ichigo said softly and kindly, still looking to the side.

"No. I made a deal with you, _Strawberry._"

He laughed at her confidence. He had definitely turned the game around, but it was now that he began to regret his moves knowing that what was happening made her extremely uncomfortable.

Rukia reached over and unclipped her bra before slowly peeling it off her body and placing it on the pile of cloths beside her.

"Hey, Rukia..." Ichigo said, as he shuffled through his hand.

"Yes, _Strawberry_?"

"Where did you get these cards?"

"Oh. Urahara gave them to me. I asked him what they were, but he said that you might enjoy explaining it to me instead."

Suddenly Ichigo felt like Rukia wasn't the only pair of eyes watching him. _Damn that Hat 'n' Clogs..._

"Ha! Full house, _Strawberry_!" Rukia smirked, convinced she had won.

"Hold on, Rukia..." Ichigo interjected, placing down his hand. "All Clubs. Guess you lose, Midget."

Rukia looked down at the cards in front of her a smirk draw across her face as she slipped her hand down.

Ichigo began to quickly shuffle the cards back into the box once again, and threw his jeans back on. But something held them back. Ichigo felt soft, warm skin stick to his back and an arm swing around to the front of his pants, preventing him from doing up his belt.

Ichigo slowly faced her, whispering her name in question.

"Ruki- Mh!" His eyes widened in shock as he felt her sweet, warm lips grace his own.

He shut his eyes, and took control. Leaning down into the kiss, he snaked his arms around her and held her firmly, pressing his chest against hers. For a moment, he forgot that they were both lacking clothing, his mind fully focused on the kiss.

Rukia pulled herself back, taking Ichigo with her as they both gently fell onto his bed. This woke Ichigo up as he realised Rukia had taken the bet all the way and lay completely naked below him.

He pulled away and looked down at her, wanting to know if what was going on was okay for her. He didn't want to take it any further, but he couldn't find himself able to refuse another kiss as Rukia quickly leant back in.

_Snap! _A quick flash went by without their realisation.

"Man, Byakuya is gonna love this..." Said a shady man in a green stripy hat. Urahara.

"Rukia..." Ichigo whispered softly.

"Yeah?" His deep, mysterious eyes staring into hers.

"You can call me Strawberry any time."

**`3rooke**


End file.
